


Warmth In A Blue Moon

by omookylixx



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Cute Eren Yeager, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Sleepy Boys, Sleepy Cuddles, Some Humor, give eren a hug, no betas we die like zeppelis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29087163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omookylixx/pseuds/omookylixx
Summary: It seems, somehow, the roles had been somewhat reversed.He laughed slightly, finding the situation they are in quite ironic. "Seems like I'll have to carry you back to your tent, though," Armin says quietly. "Eren," he called, not expecting a response. Surprisingly, the man hummed in return. "Sleep well. Don't make us worry about you. Please, if you need to talk, I'll listen. Don't be so hard-headed, okay?" Armin whispers. Eren grunts. Armin held him tighter, smiling against his hair.This time around, he will be the one to protect Eren. He promises.
Relationships: Armin Arlert & Eren Yeager, Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager
Comments: 8
Kudos: 85





	Warmth In A Blue Moon

**Author's Note:**

> takes place on chapter 90. most dialogues are taken from there.
> 
> this is basically just chapter 90 from armin's perspective. might be pretty ooc.

About a year after the attack at Trost District, citizens that once resided in Shiganshina District has been permitted to resettle again. The Survey Corps had embarked an expedition beyond Wall Maria for the first time in six years. Along the way, they had found a titan on the ground, crawling its way slowly to reach the wall. Eren told them that it- the titan, was one of their compatriots. Once a human that had been sent to 'heaven'. 

As they went further away from the place they call home, Armin began to feel a lot more anxious. The book he had read as a kid was the only thing he could think about. He had never seen what was beyond the walls but in this journey, he'll finally see what freedom lies in front of them. 

The ocean, the flaming water, the frozen plains, snowfields on the sand - everything he had never seen before is now slowly, bit by bits, revealing itself to him. To them. To all of Eldians. He internally thanked Eren for reminding him about everything, and for giving him a single thread of a dream he hasn't achieved- a reason to live. 

On the journey, Eren had informed everyone about where the Eldians were turned into titans. He knew it using the power of the Founding Titan, Armin had guessed. A few months back during the ceremony held by Historia Reiss, Eren had made a small scene when he touched her hand. It seemed like he saw something he shouldn't, Armin could still recall his shocked expression as the newly throned Queen called his name. 

Before he could start theorizing what Eren had seen, Armin's thoughts were shut off by the sight of the wide, long blue water. And for once in the whole expedition, his thoughts went quiet. He no longer felt the guilt for Commander Erwin's death, everything that was tugging on his heart had long been disregarded. It is the so-called ocean he had dreamed of seeing thousands of times. 

You couldn't see the end of it. It's dark, luminous, eerie and yet- it's beautiful, it is bright as it reflected the light of the sun. It wasn't like the rivers inside the walls, he once thought the rivers were already big enough for everyone to play in. But this- it is different entirely. The sky is clear with little clouds, the light colours above complemented the dark waters below them. 

Eyes wide as he gripped his saddle, careful to not lose his balance on the horse. Everyone took a few minutes to admire the view before going down the cliff to take a break. It seems like they will be spending a night there before returning home a few days later. The scent of salty water, the sound of the never-ending waves of the ocean splashing against the land. "All of you, brats. Set up a tent. Don't place it too close to that thing, it could be dangerous," Captain Levi commanded. They all responded in unison, "Yes, sir!". 

. 

Armin stood there, cold water splashing against his feet. His eyes locked onto the object right beside him. It seemed like a shell he had seen in the book, more specifically, a conch shell. 

Around him, Sasha was attacked by Connie with the water. Jean had tried drinking it, now shouting about how salty it tasted. Commander Hange is talking about how she sees something, and Captain Levi is warning her to not touch anything. "It could be poisonous," he said. Armin took the shell into his own hands, holding it as if it was an overly rare gem. He stared at it, admiring how it looked. 

Armin did not notice Mikasa coming up behind him, probably trying to get in the scene after seeing Eren and him appreciating the view. Hearing Mikasa squeal at the cold temperature of the water, he turned around to look at her only to be greeted with a worried expression on her face. 

He chuckled, feeling elated. He is thankful to even be alive and to witness this with both of them. He was close to tears. "See? I told you, Eren. It's so big a merchant could spend his whole life collecting salt, and still not get it all. That's what I said. I was right, wasn't I?" Armin says, voice subtlely shaking. "Yeah.." Eren replies, not looking at him. "It's so huge.." He added. 

"It is...." Armin agreed with him and stared at the shell that lay on his hand. He smiled, wanting to continue expressing his joy. "Hey. look at this, Eren--" his words were cut off by the man in front of him. 

"On the other side of the walls... Is the ocean. And on the other side of the ocean... Is freedom. That's what I always believed," Eren paused on his sentence to spare a glance at Armin and Mikasa. Both of their eyes were on him now. "But I was wrong. It's enemies that are on the other side of the ocean. This is all exactly as I saw in my old man's memories," he said. 

Armin did not know what to say in return, nor did Mikasa. For a moment, Armin felt the realisation hit him. Something finally clicked in his mind. 

"...Right? Those enemies on the other side of here.. If we kill them all. Does that mean.. we'll be free?" Eren broke eye contact and looked beyond past the ocean, pointing towards the unknown. Armin's eyes followed where he pointed, only to glance back down at the empty shell. 

He finally pieced his thoughts back together. Eren is correct. There is no telling what's beyond the ocean, or what lies in front of them is a foe or an ally. What they were heading towards right now could even be a mistake. 

There are so much- so many- infinite possibilities as to what could happen to all of them, and this long road could hardly be called safe. And to think that, he- Armin, was alive instead of Commander Erwin, a man of virtue, one who had so many hopes to see the other side of the walls, only to die before he could. To add salt on the wound, Bertolt had died because of him too. There were so much more to this journey. 

It made sense as to why Eren seemed so distant and quiet the whole time. 

. 

As the sun sets, they prepared a campfire a few foot near the tents. Sasha had secretly caught a few fish earlier, despite Captain Levi telling her not to. Her reasoning was, "It's still fish in water, there is no difference!". Commander Hange was interested in eating it too. Her words were, "What's going to hurt in eating a silly fish that came from some salty water? This might be good!". Captain Levi just gave up trying to reason with both of them. Their dinner tonight would be fish, bread and some meat. 

Sitting on a big rock in front of the fire, Armin looked above him. Small, bright dots filled the black sky. The light on them came from the moon and the fire, it was dark and cold. He admired the scene, making sure to remember every single thing about this moment;

Commander Hange was telling a joke to all of them again, it seems like she never gets tired of telling them how glad she is to go on this expedition. She was rambling about how they will soon find out the truth and so on. Connie seemed to be her victim this time, as her arms now hanged around his shoulder to pull him closer. Meanwhile Jean pretends to listen to her, but he's dozing off to sleep. Sasha is happily finishing up the leftovers. Commander Levi is peacefully drinking his tea while engaging in a small conversation with Floch. 

And next to Armin sits Eren and Mikasa. Feeling comfortable in such an atmosphere, he smiled. "We used to do this when we were kids, didn't we? Sneak out to lay near the river only to look at the sky at night," Armin says, visualising his childhood on his mind. Mikasa showed a small smile and nodded. Eren looked up, not adding anything to the conversation. 

"Then I would talk about what I've read.. Eren would mention something about beating up the bullies... Mikasa... You would just warn him to not do anything stupid" Armin let out a laugh. Mikasa's smile grew slightly bigger. 

"We were very innocent, back then. Until... Reiner broke the wall," Eren finally talks. Armin looked down and agreed, "...Yeah,". 

"Armin... Mikasa... Will both of you have faith in me even when I sound sceptical?" Eren suddenly asks. Mikasa and Armin looked at him reluctantly, obviously confused. 

"Even if I seem dangerous... Would you still trust me?" Eren adds, trying to ease the tension. "I will," Mikasa replies after a few seconds. Armin looked at him, trying to read his expression. "I suppose I will. Why are you asking?" he questioned. "Nothing. I just needed confirmation" Eren replied solemnly. 

All three of them stayed in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company. It was broken when Sasha came over to loudly tell Mikasa about her stomachache and how bad she wanted to take a dump. She pleaded Mikasa to help her out on this problem. Eventually, Mikasa gave in and said, " Goodnight, Eren, Armin. " then left them both alone. 

A few minute passes.

Armin finally gathers up the courage to ask. "Eren," he looked at the man beside him again. "Are you... Alright?" He raised the question. Eren seemed to be taken aback. "Yeah... A lot has been on my mind lately. It's been bothering me," He answers honestly. 

"Do you... Want to talk about it?". Eren shooked his head, "No need," he replied. "Is it about the nightmares again?" Armin tries to comfort him. "Sort of. It's technically not a nightmare... More like a memory of my old man's," he explains, voice showing signs of sleepiness. 

Armin thought that, if Eren didn't feel comfortable talking about it, then perhaps he should change the topic after all. "...What do you think the flaming waters would look like? Do you think we'll get to see it? To think that such waters could come from the bottom of this place... There is much more we haven't experienced," Armin paused to add firewood in the campfire. 

"Commander Hange is right, there is more we have to learn about. Do you think the other side of the ocean are truly enemies? I am pretty interested to see their lifestyle. The food on the other side, the animals, their technology... How did they even figure out what a photograph is? Burning an image onto a piece of paper... It's honestly amazing--" his rambling stopped when Eren's head fell on his shoulder. 

"....Cold" Eren mumbled in his sleep. Armin huffed a laugh. He pulled Eren closer by his waist, then rested his hand on his shoulders. He placed his chin against Eren's head, smiling slightly. 

"Eren, if you're going to sleep, then go to your tent. I'm not a pillow you can just sleep on," he sighed, ruffling Eren's hair. His smile widens when Eren tries to nuzzle his way onto the touch. Armin hugged him closer. 

He whispered slowly, "Just this once, I'll be your cushion". He played with Eren's hair. "You'll be fine, Eren. You can sleep quietly now". The faint sounds of bugs, the water splashing and the firewood being burnt were the only thing that could be heard. The scent of the ocean lingers. 

With Eren's unusual mood swings because of the 'nightmares', Armin had guessed he never got any good sleep. Eren groaned, stopping his hand from playing with his hair and placed it on his head instead. "Fine, fine. I'll stop," Armin teased.

Armin looked at the fire in front of him. It's peaceful for once. With Eren snuggling him like this, it seemed to warm them both up against the cold, dark air. It seems like they are the only pair left alone outside. He must have missed seeing the others go back to their tent when he was rambling to Eren earlier. 

He looked back at Eren, his childhood friend that he had known for years; grew up together, worked together and experienced life-and-death situations with. Once again, he internally thanked whatever deity or God that allowed them to breathe right now. 

Thinking back, Armin once did this when they were kids too. 

But.. It was usually Eren hugging him. This constantly happened when Armin was getting bullied, Eren making the situation worse and resulting in them both to get beaten up in the process. Eren would try to comfort him afterwards and tell him words like, "Don't worry about them!"... "I'll beat them for you no matter what happens"... "That didn't hurt at all!"... And Armin would just sob into his arms. 

He let out a snort. He suddenly felt guilty for making Eren defend him through all of that. 

It seems, somehow, the roles had been somewhat reversed. 

He laughed slightly, finding the situation they are in quite ironic. "Seems like I'll have to carry you back to your tent, though," Armin says quietly. "Eren," he called, not expecting a response. Surprisingly, the man hummed in return. "Sleep well. Don't make us worry about you. Please, if you need to talk, I'll listen. Don't be so hard-headed, okay?" Armin whispers. Eren grunts. Armin held him tighter, smiling against his hair. 

This time around, he will be the one to protect Eren. He promises.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time seriously writing a fanfic after 5 years.. and its about eren/armin... oh well.
> 
> yeah um tell me what you think, give me feedbacks and all. i would appreciate it.
> 
> also lmk if you want a second chapter or something, i had an idea on what to write but only if u guys rlly want to read it ok 👍👍
> 
> \---
> 
> i find it funny that mikasa left them to help sasha take a shit then the fluff thing happens 😭😭😭 i didnt know how to seperate mikasa from eren..


End file.
